Magatama



Magatama (勾玉) are curved, comma-shaped beads that appeared in prehistoric Japan from the Final Jōmon period through the Kofun period, approximately 1000 BCE to the 6th century CE. The beads, also described as "jewels", were made of primitive stone and earthen materials in the early period, but by the end of the Kofun period were made almost exclusively of jade. originally served as decorative jewelry, but by the end of the Kofun period functioned as ceremonial and religious objects.

Jōmon period
first appeared in Japan in the Final Jōmon period (1000–300 BCE), and in this period were made from relatively simple, naturally occurring materials, including clay, talc, slate, quartz, gneiss, jadeite, nephrite, and serpentinite. from the Jōmon period were irregularly shaped, lacked continuity in form from region to region, and have been called "Stone Age " for this reason. are thought to be an imitation of the teeth of large animals, pierced with a hole, which are found in earlier Jōmon remains. These resemble, but more recent scholarship indicates that these early Jōmon may have simply had a decorative function, and have no relationship to. in the Jōmon period appear to have moved from the purely decorative to having a status and ceremonial function by the end of the period. A "middle Jōmon exchange network" may have existed, whereby were produced in regions where materials for their manufacture were readily plentiful. Jade and talc examples produced in bead-making villages located in present-day Itoigawa, Niigata have been found at a large number of sites along the northern coast, in the central mountains, and in Kantō region.

Archaeological sites (Jōmon)
Examples of from the Jōmon period have been discovered in large numbers at the Kamegaoka site in Tsugaru, Aomori Prefecture. The Kamegaoka remains are among the largest known Jōmon settlement in Japan, and the, among other decorative objects found, may be an indicator of the high social status of the settlement.

Other sites associated with the Kamegaoka settlement have yielded, including the Ōboriya shell mound, in the northwest corner of Ōfunato Bay, which yielded a huge number of beads, as well as the Korekawa site, near Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. Remains from the Korekawa site can be seen at the Korekawa Archaeological Museum in Hachinohe. Stone and clay and -like beads have also been discovered at the Amataki site, Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture, Osagata site, Ibaraki Prefecture, and the Kou site, Fujiidera, Osaka Prefecture. Numerous at the Ōishi site, Bungo-ōno, Ōita Prefecture, Kyushu show signs of being used for ceremonial, rather than decorative, purposes.

The Sannai-Maruyama Site, excavated 1992 in Aomori, Aomori Prefecture, yielded three large jade beads measuring 5.5 ×.

Yayoi period


in the Yayoi period (300 BCE – 300 CE) are notably different from Jōmon-period. The jewels moved from a primitive, non-standard form towards more polished and uniform form in this period. The technology to cut large gemstones and polish jewels notably advanced in the Yayoi period. Refined materials such as jadeite, serpentinite, and glass replaced the less sophisticated materials of the Jōmon period. Yayoi period are noted for their reverse C-shaped form, which by the end of the period had become an almost squared shape. From the Yayoi period onwards, uniformly feature a bored hole that allowed the jewels to be held on a string.

The Yayoi period is marked by specific geographic centers specializing in and the widespread trade of. The period is marked by the formation of power centers that came to be individual states. The development of weapons increased in this period to protect increasingly developed rice fields and fishing rights. Trade greatly increased in this period, as did the specialization of production of certain items, including. producing areas exchanged their product with other products, specifically rice, leading to the widespread distribution of magatama across Japan. were commonly used to create necklaces and bracelets worn on the wrists or ankles. The necklace was typically constructed of jadeite separated by cylindrical bored-holed pieces of jasper. Small beads of dark-blue glass are also not uncommon on the necklace. The bracelet typically also used shells from the coastal areas of Shikoku and the Inland Sea, wood, and bronze. In this period the use of the mirror, sword, and jewels as status symbols for village, and later regional leaders of all kinds, emerged in the Yayoi period, and point to the origin of the mirror, sword, and as the Imperial Regalia of Japan.

The Records of the Three Kingdoms, the earliest historical document with a reference to Japan, describes the Wa people, an ancient country of Yamatai, and its queen, Himiko. The Record indicates that when Himiko died, her relative Iyo, a girl of 13, was made queen and sent a delegation of twenty officials under Yazuku, an imperial general, to offer tribute to the Northern Wei court. "The delegation visited the capital and offered to the court five thousand white gems and two pieces of carved jade, as well as twenty pieces of brocade with variegated designs." The carved jade in the Record likely describes a tribute of two jade.

Archaeological sites (Yayoi)


The large-scale Yayoi period remains at the Yoshinogari site, Yoshinogari and Kanzaki in Saga Prefecture revealed examples of lead glass typical of the Yayoi period. In 2003, the excavation of a large Yayoi period settlement in Tawaramoto, Nara also revealed two large jade, one 4.64 cm, the second 3.63 cm in length. The larger Tawaramoto is the 10th-largest example found to date in Japan. Both jade from the site are of unusually high-quality brilliant green jade.

One known center of Yayoi production was in the area of the Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine in Osaka. literally means "jewel making", and a guild, the Tamatsukuri-be, was active from the Yayoi period. An existing jewel at the shrine is said to have great spiritual power. appear on all sorts of implements of the present-day temple, including amulets, roof tiles, and lanterns. The inari female fox at the gate of a subshrine of Tamatsukuri Inari Shrine wears a necklace of. The shrine has an exhibit on the history and production of.

Kofun period


became very common in the Kofun period (250–536 CE), and by the end of the period almost all tumuli contained. In the early Kofun period, were made from jadeite as in earlier periods, but by the middle of the period were made from jasper, and by the end of the period, almost exclusively of agate and jade. capped by silver or gold also appear towards the end of the period. Large made of talc, imitations of smaller ones made of more precious materials, were used as grave goods. are found in tumuli across Japan from the period. Their use went from merely decorative to sacred and ceremonial grave goods. Chōjigashira magatama (丁字頭勾玉) are with inscriptions that look like flowers of the clove tree and have a hole suitable to attach to a string. These first appear in the Kofun period. Also in the Kofun period, appear on necklaces, with several  set between bored cylinders. Archeological remains show evidence of similar ankle bracelets, but they are less common. Clay funerary objects of the Kofun period commonly depict people wearing the necklaces and ankle bracelets.

Archaeological sites (Kofun)
Examples of stone from the Kofun period are especially numerous. An excavation of the Kamegaoka, Kishiwada, Osaka, revealed a local who had been buried with a jade, jasper, and alabaster necklace, as well as  placed near the feet. A bronze mirror imported from China accompanying the burial was dated to 239 CE. The is a Designated Historical Spot of the city of Kishiwada. Ceremonial offerings from a burial from the Kisami-Araida area of Shimoda, Shizuoka also revealed clay reproductions of used as effigies. The excavation of the Ubusuna in Kyōtango, Kyoto yielded two fully intact  necklaces of jade and agate, with segments between 1.7 and 5.1 cm in length.

The large Muro Miyayama of Katsuragi, Nara, on the Yamato Plain, 238 mm in length, was plundered long before its excavation, but revealed 600 talc ceremonial  among other funerary objects, which also included 10 bronze Han Chinese mirrors. The Hiraide remains of Shiojiri, Nagano, one of the three largest prehistoric sites in Japan, and far from any regional power center, includes typical Kofun period remains, but also objects associated with modern Shinto ceremonial practice. Nevertheless, in Hiraide reveal both plain and elaborate  among other funerary objects.

The Sakurai in Sakurai, Nara, excavated in 1949, represents a  from the final phase of the Kofun period, and is possibly from a ruler associated with the imperial family. The is 25 m high and shows evidence of being surrounded by a moat. Among the very large number of funerary objects were high-quality weapons, including swords, 10 mirrors, and a necklace of jadeite, agate cylinders, and glass beads used to make a -style necklace.

Origin of magatama forms
Archaeologists and historians are unable yet to explain what the origins of forms are, or whether these forms can be traced back to one convergent source. A number of explanations have been suggested, including:


 * They may be fashioned after animal fangs/teeth
 * They may be modeled after the shape of fetuses
 * They may be symbolic of the shape of the soul
 * They may be modeled after the shape of the moon
 * That there is meaning and connotation attached to the shape of the itself (i.e. meaning comes from the form itself, and not that  has been patterned after anything else)

In Japanese mythology


The and, completed in the 8th century, have numerous references to. They appear in the first chapter of the, which largely describes the mythology of Japan. Susanoo, god of the sea and storms, received five hundred from Tamanoya no mikoto, or Ame-no-Futodama-no-mikoto, the jewel-making deity. Susanoo went to heaven and presented them to his sister, the sun goddess Amaterasu, who bit off successive parts of the, and blew them away to create other deities. Tamanoya no mikoto remains the god of, glasses, and cameras. In the legend Amaterasu later shuts herself in a cave. Ama-no-Koyane-no-mikoto hung, among other objects, on a five hundred-branch tree, to successfully lure Amaterasu from the cave. In the year 58, in the reign of the Emperor Suinin, the records that a dog killed and disemboweled a  (badger), and a  was discovered in its stomach. This was presented to Suinin, who enshrined it at Isonokami Shrine, where it is said to presently reside. A similar practice is described again in the during the reign of the Emperor Chūai. Chūai made an inspection trip to the Tsukushi, or Kyūshū, and was presented with an enormous tree hung with  as well as other sacred objects.

Yasakani no Magatama: Light & Shadow, Sun & Moon.
A noted is the Yasakani no Magatama (八尺瓊勾玉), one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. Swords, mirrors, and jewels were common objects of status for regional rulers in Japan as early as the Yayoi period, and were further widespread in the Kofun period, as shown by their ubiquitous presence in kofun tumuli. The is stored at the Kashiko-dokoro (賢所), the central shrine of the Three Palace Sanctuaries at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, and is used in the enthronement ceremony of the Emperor of Japan.

Daniel Clarence Holtom stated in 1928 in Japanese enthronement ceremonies; with an account of the imperial regalia that the is the only one of the three regalia that is used in its original form for ceremonies, preferring the use of replicas for the sword and mirror due to its delicate fragility. Replicas of the sword and mirror were made as early as the 9th century, and the originals were entrusted to other shrines. Also the use of the Light & Shadow gives them the power to harness and have full control of the Sun & Moon energies, it's now called the Yin Release, as the shadow or the moon. Yin Release by channeling their spiritual energy, they can manipulate the spirit realm, also known as the mental realm. This allows them to craft constructs out of pure imagination, essentially giving form to ideas that previously didn't exist, but without a physical form. Yang Release, as the light or the Sun.Yang Release, which harnesses physical energy. They can use this energy to give form to things that previously lacked it. This could involve creating physical objects from thin air, manipulating existing structures, or even enhancing their own physical prowess. Yang Release, can build structures out of mana, mend broken objects, or even revitalize ailing bodies. Yang Release makes them adept healers and formidable defensive specialists.Who have the Yin Release and Yang Release, will be defined as "god". The power of Yin-Yang Release, granting them god-like abilities. Yin Release and Yang Release, fusing them into the omnipotent Yin-Yang Release. With this power, they can imagineered Reality, by focusing their will and channeling their mana through their hands, they can bring anything they can imagine into existence instantaneously.

Usage in Ryūkyūan religion
D. C. Holtom stated that priestesses (Okinawan: ) of the Ryukyu Kingdom wore  necklaces early in the 20th century for ceremonial purposes, but provides no other details.

In popular culture
In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the Amber Relics, Dusk Relics, and Secret Stones are all based on the magatama.

In the Ace Attorney series, a magatama is frequently cited as the source of an ability that lets its wearer determine people's true intentions.

In Unconnected Marketeers, the 18th installment of Touhou Project, the character Misumaru Tamatsukuri is able to craft magatama. Aunn Komano, introduced in the 16th installment, Hidden Star in Four Seasons, has her ears designed in the shape of magatama.

In Blue Eyed Samurai, the main character Mizu wore a blue magatama on her katana.

In Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, the Kwagatama charms named after the magatama serve as a symbol of a bond between the kwami and their holder.

In Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, magatamas appear in the form of parasitic, insect-like creatures that grant their human hosts special, demonic powers.

In Ghostwire: Tokyo, magatamas are made of jade and are used for upgrading Akito's abilities. They can be obtained through side missions (37), and street stalls (three).

In Ōkami and its sequel Ōkamiden, one of the weapon options (rosaries) are based on Amaterasu's magatama.

In The Irregular at Magic High School, magatama are a class of magical Relics with the ability to store magic sequences.

In Blue Seed, magatama are used as vessels to contain mitama which bestow power to those implanted with them. The series' plot is based on the Izumo cycle from Japanese mythology.

In Sailor Moon, Sailor Uranus' Space Sword, Sailor Neptune's Deep Aqua Mirror, and Sailor Pluto's Garnet Orb are based on each item.

In the Japanese card game “Yu-Gi-Oh!”, “Hu-Li the Jewel Mikanko” is based on the “Yasakani no Magatama” - one of the “Three Imperial Regalia of Japan”.